Too late to start writing to POIs now?

[hellibor]

Hi all,

I just finished applying to 8 schools, for cultural PhD programs with fall 2015 entry. My advisor warned me against writing to professors. I'm currently at an elite institution, and she receives hundreds of emails--and claims that it can actually hurt your application to appear so "needy." But everything I've read on here completely contradicts that. So to sum it up, should I just stick with my strategy of not emailing, or should I backtrack and try and contact POIs?

Thanks so much in advance for your help!

[Soleil ت]

Hi hellibor,

 

From what I've noticed from these forums alone, choosing to email POIs is a personal choice. Some adamantly recommend writing POIs early; others say to avoid it. I personally choose not to contact POIs out of fear of being "needy", as you put it. My friend, who is applying to similar programs, contacted every one of her POIs as early as September; another flew to France to meet with a POI personally. It's a choice you should make based on how you feel you wish to be perceived, keeping in mind that every POI is going to be different, so there is truly no one "right" answer.

 

Not being a "contacter" myself, I am not fully aware of the timing etiquette; my instinct is telling me it might be a little too late to contact POIs now. I feel it might appear to them as a gesture of formality, rather than a thoughtful inquiry. I'd love to see other answers to this, though. I could be off the mark.

 

Best of luck!

[daykid]

I'd say hold off at this point. I think it's a little late. Last year I contacted people early under the pretense of asking if they thought I'd be a good fit for the program, which seemed to work well. I'd say that if you email now having already applied, the only way that will read is needy.

[rising_star]

What would you hope to get out of emailing now? Are there specific questions that they could help you with after you submit your application and before you hear if you've been admitted? My guess is there's nothing overly important that you must ask now and didn't ask before. Given that, I would wait until you hear about admissions to contact POIs.

[sarab]

I agree with everyone else. At this point, it won't really add to your application to contact them. I contacted my POIs early to see if they thought I was a good fit and to make sure they were taking students (advisees) and that way avoid applying to places where the POI was leaving or not taking students. Being so late in the application process, those inquiries are not as valid anymore.